Many have over the years complained about K-1's complete lack of weight classes. They knew what buttered their bread and by all means, that was Heavyweight and Superheavyweight competitors clashing in the ring against each other. When TBS saw dollar signs in Masato, all of a sudden the Middleweights had slick presentation and their own shows with their own unique look and feel that set them apart from the Heavyweights. For It's Showtime, expanding the sport has been important to them, from putting on fights on different continents to making sure there are adequate weight classes so that fighters can fight at their best.

Recently, we've seen a rash of 77kg fighters stepping up to fight some of the more elite fighters at 70kg, which means dropping a whopping 7kg, which translates to 15lbs. This creates a problem on both ends of the spectrum, for the 70kg fighters, it means fighting much larger opponents, for the 77kg fighters, it means a hellacious weight cut. On the last It's Showtime event, we saw L'houcine "Aussie" Ouzgni drop from a comfortable 77kg to 70kg to fight Andy Souwer without success, and this past weekend we saw Cosmo Alexandre drop in weight from 77kg to face 70kg king pin Giorgio Petrosyan, again, without success.

So, It's Showtime today introduced the 73kg division, or roughly 160lbs. Think EliteXC's Nick Diaz division. It provides a five pound gap between the 70kg class, and a 9lb gap between the 73kg division and 77kg division. This helps balance out the weight classes for smaller fighters looking to face top competition.

Never to disappoint, It's Showtime has introduced this 73kg division sooner rather than later. Starting May 14, It's Showtime will showcase this new division in a title fight, none-the-less. France's Yohan Lidon will take on Marat Grigorian from Armenia with both men vying for the 73kg Title. [source]